SWOT Analysis of New Zealand Squad selected for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 is set to get underway on February 10th and will go on till February 26th 2023. It will be hosted by South Africa and will have 23 matches in total, with the finals at the Newlands Cricket in Cape Town, South Africa.

The World Cup will feature 10 teams spread across two groups.

How is New Zealand placed for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup?

New Zealand is placed in Group A along with the likes of Australia, Bangladesh, hosts South Africa and Sri Lanka and will square off against them in the group stage matches.

What are New Zealand’s fixtures?

How did New Zealand fare in the last T20 World Cup 2020?

New Zealand has had rough T20 World Cups in the past edition after they crashed out in the first rounds in the 2018 and 2020 T20 World Cups. They were runner-ups in the first two editions and will be looking to bring the same form to this World Cup with a strong and balanced squad.

What is New Zealand’s Squad for Women’s T20 World Cup 2023?

Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu.

SWOT Analysis of New Zealand’s Squad for Women’s T20 World Cup 2023?

Strengths of the New Zealand squad selected for Women’s T20 World Cup 2023:

• Presence of Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine: The experienced duo of Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine add so much value to any team they are a part of. Having batted at the top of the order for time immemorial, they are integral cogs in the White Ferns set-up, and with a World Cup eluding their trophy cabinets, this time around, they will look to play a quality brand of cricket and achieve the possible.

• Quality all-rounder Amelia Kerr: Any adjective will fall short to describe Amelia Kerr, and her presence in the set-up will only bolster New Zealand’s prospects. Be it scoring runs for fun or scaling wickets when the team needs it the most, Amelia Kerr is the go-to person, and with her name in the record books already, her consistent and dominant performances in the recent past instills a lot of confidence in the team.

• Balance of youth and experience: Perhaps what will augur well for New Zealand is how their team boasts a mix of youth and experience. The new contract system that was rolled out earlier in 2022 saw a lot of youngsters make it to the roster, and with just four players over the age bracket of 30 or older in the fifteen-member playing squad, New Zealand has chosen to rely on their youth in a welcome step in the right direction.

Weaknesses of the New Zealand squad selected for Women’s T20 World Cup 2023:

• Absence of experienced players: One of the major downsides of having a young side is how inexperience can be a concern. The White Ferns will certainly miss out on the services of Frankie Mackay, Katey Martin, Amy Satterthwaite and Leigh Kasperek, and this World Cup will see them being missed heavily.

• A new ball bowling attack: New ball bowling was a concern for the White Ferns in the lead-up to their home ODI World Cup, and with Lea Tahuhu, the experienced veteran, the management will hope for Jess Kerr, Hannah Rowe, and Molly Penfold to also come strong and chip in with crucial wickets.

• A young and inexperienced spin department: Although Amelia Kerr is one of the strongest bowling weapons the White Ferns possesses, the likes of Eden Carson, and Fran Jonas who are young and inexperienced, so this World Cup will test them in some of the toughest of conditions, and they would be looking to come out on top.

• Overdependence on Bates, Devine and Kerr: A tendency of New Zealand to crumble and depend on the trio of Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr to bail them out has more often than not been the trend that they will certainly be looking to have other chip in to avoid situations like that.

Opportunities of the New Zealand squad selected for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023:

• A young group that can showcase their talent: With the odds stacked against them and the horrors of the home ODI World Cup debacle also playing in their minds, New Zealand’s young team would want to make a mark in this World Cup and barring the threats of South Africa and Australia, they can look to win against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh without much hassle and cause an upset to make it to the knockouts.

• Return of Brooke Halliday: She has the reputation of being an attacking batter, and her return will strengthen New Zealand. Her all-round prowess adds a lot of balance to the team, and she is certainly a constant in the playing eleven.

• Presence of Bernadine Bezuidenhout: Making her way to the team after switching allegiances from South Africa in 2018 and her recovery from a disease, she managed to make a mark in the domestic set-up that ensured her selection in the team edging out Izzy Gaze and Jess McFayden. Her style of cricket is vouched for by the head coach, and she will certainly add a lot of value to New Zealand.

• Return of Fran Jonas: She has been earmarked as one of the most exciting talents, and an injury ruled her out of the U19 World Cup, but she is raring to go, and this World Cup looks like the perfect opportunity to renew the faith in the selectors and make a statement.

• The perfect stage for the middle order of New Zealand to make a mark: Besides the top three of Devine, Bates and Kerr, the middle order for New Zealand has the likes of Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, and Bernadine Bezuidenhout, who will want to put their best foot forward and chip in as and when needed the most.

Threats for the New Zealand squad selected for Women’s T20 World Cup 2023:

• Absence of Rosemary Mair: Pacer Rosemary Mair, who has the reputation of being a pacer to watch out for owing to a string of poor performances, has been left out was quite a surprising exclusion.

• Fatigue for Georgia Plimmer: Having featured in the U19 World Cup and being one of the top run-getters, she has been playing continuous cricket for some time now and will be hoping that the exertion and fatigue does not get the better of her in an important World Cup like this.

Neha Shetty

I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.